Floating Joint System
|designer= |type=Mobile Gear Joint Type/System |model= |created= |discharge= |function= |power source= |power output= |control system= |affiliation= |universe=Orbital Era |storyline= |firstappearance= |finalappearance= }}The Floating Joint System is a type of Mobile Gear joint array used for GUNSYS's Mobile weapons. They are featured in Mobile Gear Gundam Blues. Description & Characteristics Traditional Mobile Gears use hydraulic cylinders in order to have the necessary strength to move their jointed appendages unidirectionally, along with rotary devices for needed 360 degree motion. These necessary parts have a habit of breaking down easily, as a mobile gear's rough movement and potential combat role leads to the joint parts being constantly under pressure either due to the high speeds of the unit or attacks which inflict force onto the unit. Because the hydraulics not having enough flexibility to endure the forces or at least effectively disperse them, they are under threat of snapping, rendering the joint part inoperable. The Floating Joint System serves as a permanent upgrade from this state, mainly used for the Gundam Gear series. Rather than the joint parts being brought physically together, one side is made to instead trap the other connecting part within a strong field of electromagnetic force. The inlet part, consisting of two walls, has installed in its interior two rotary discs surrounding a single magnetic projector in their centers. The outlet part, which is only a single cylinder rig with a wide ring as its top, is made of a material that can be magnetically pushed and pulled. When brought together, the inlet's projectors create a stabilizing point which keeps the outlet ring from moving too far out of place, with the two discs acting as secondary magnetic points. On the sides of the ring and on the outer sides of the discs are several diagonal magnetic plates which create an opposing force between the sides of the discs and the ring they're facing. This makes a stable joint, but on its own the parts won't rotate without force being applied towards one direction or the other. The term Floating Joint System is used to refer to the program which governs this, as well as the joint configuration itself. By changing the polarity of the plates, the joint is made to move via magnetic force, with enough nuance with the number of magnetic plates allowing for smooth movement across the entire range of the joint. The system keeps the necessary magnetic force from fluctuating beyond or below its needed power, while also keeping the overall energy needed from being a burden on the power plant it is attached to. There exist variants of the Floating Joint type, used for different types of needed movable components that require a level of range and movement separate from what the inlet-outlet parts, known as A-Type, provide. B-Type consists of just the two discs attached to the surface of two different objects, with an anchoring center part which physically tie the two components together while the rings handle 360 degree rotation via the magnetic forces of their opposing plates. C-Type articulates the discs on the A-Type, adding side-to-side motion along with the unidirectional provided by default. D-Type intertwines a pair large and small ring magnetic joints perpendicular to each other to allow for 360 degree range on the horizontal ring and around 180 degree range on the vertical ring on either end. E-Type attaches four magnetic rings together and uses the strength of the magnetic force to both rotate them and angle them off, as far as 45 degrees each just on the push/pull of their plates. No matter the type, the same kind of external protection is used to keep stray electromagnetic forces from interfering in the internal operations of the Floating Joint. A foam insulator covers the innermost core, with a copper lining protecting the entire rig from outside forces. More outer layers, such as parts of the inner frame components and outermost armor bits, provide more protection for the system to work as intended without interruption. Components & Features *'Magnetic Plate Array' *'Rotary Ring' *'Platform Disc' *'Magnetic Projector' *'Balancer System' *'External Electric Protection' Variants *'A-Type' ::The A-Type is mainly used for appendage joint parts, such as the elbows and knees of a Mobile Gear. The inlet parts are a pair of two magnetic platform discs that, with two centralized magnetic projectors, use electromagnetic force to trap the outlet part's magnetized rotation ring in between. These A-type joints can only provide movement across a unidirectional path, forwards and backwards, but ultimately have a range of around 270 degrees even with inner frame parts and armor components along the pathway. Usually two of these are used in unison to provide a full bend to whatever body unit they are used on. ::Joint parts using the A-Type include the upper and lower elbow joints of the arm units, upper and lower knee joints of the leg units, and each articulated joint of the fingers on the manipulator hands (except for the base of the thumb joint). *'B-Type' ::The B-Type mainly exists for the connections between chest, abs, and waist units for the Mobile Gears. They consist of two magnetic platform discs which are attached to the connection side of whatever object they are placed upon, such as the undercarriage of the chest unit, above and beneath the abs unit, and on top of the waist unit. They use a large ball/cup-based inlet-outlet plug system to anchor and tether the parts together and bring the discs together, as the discs will use their magnetic repulsion to guide movement. The cup inlet has its interior lined with magnetic plates, creating a floating joint with the metallic ball unit, allowing for some bending motion with the joints. The discs cannot provide this, as they are solely responsible for complete horizontal 360 rotation along their rounded path. ::Besides providing the movement assembly for the chest unit's waist, the B-Type is also found on the sides of the Mobile Gear's backpack, giving a two-point arm to the GUNPylon Shoulder Mounts and allowing them to move out of the way of the arm when it rotates linearly within the area the Mount sits in. *'C-Type' *'D-Type' *'E-Type' *'F-Type' History Trivia